Pte van Gass, who lives in Woolwich, lost his left arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack while serving with the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan in 2009.

He also suffered a collapsed lung, punctured internal organs, loss of muscle from the upper left thigh, multiple shrapnel wounds and fractures to his knee, fibula and tibia.

Pte van Gass last year successfully trekked to the North Pole for the Walking With The Wounded charity, and was part of an attempt to climb Mount Everest this year, which was aborted because of dangerous conditions.